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Ai Weiwei’s data art challenge

In June 2014, Ai Weiwei donated data for the Hack the SpaceHackathon, which was held at Tate Modern to launch The Space.

He recorded himself reading aloud the names of the 5,196 children and young people who died in 2008's Sichuan earthquake, which he and thousands of bloggers collected after the Chinese government refused to release their names.

Teams at the event were asked to use this data to create artworks. Three winning projects were chosen, with the top prize going to an online piece called $echo.

Ai Weiwei has now released this data - which was initially hidden by Chinese authorities - so that anyone can use it to create their own artwork and remember the children who lost their lives. Just download the file (add download link) and get started.

About this Artist

Ai Weiwei’s data art challenge was commissioned by Tate and The Space.

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist, and was the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.